“All of her sisters have played,” he said. “She has grown up playing in her backyard.”

James Kling, OLLU head softball coach, said he had known Idrogo since she was age 12.

“At that point, you could tell she was going to be an exceptional athlete,” Kling said.

He said the he hopes the addition of Idrogo to the roster will bolster the young team—now in its fourth year—and put OLLU on the map as a bat-swinging force to be reckoned with.

Idrogo said her relationship with Kling goes back to a club team coached by Kling's daughter. Although the two were only loosely affiliated through relatives and competition the pair noticed each other's skill early on.

Rudy Idrogo said Nadine spent a lot of time with her sisters—one of whom played for Kling while he served as assistant coach at St. Mary's University—attending softball events from club play to national competitions at which she and her father would play catch.

“If you only knew how many hours I spent in the bucket letting her throw,” he joked.

He said his family knew of Kling's coaching and were thrilled to learn Nadine would get to work with him.

“I'm happy to get to work with Coach Kling,” Nadine Idrogo said. “It makes me happy that he didn't give up on me.”

Rudy said Nadine's childhood nickname was “the wild thing” because she was fast and out of control. But after years of dedicated practice, she has become pretty dangerous on the mound, with 896 strikeouts in four years and a record of 72 wins and 18 losses.

“As a father I couldn't ask for more,” he said. “It makes me proud to be able to say `that's my kid.' I realize that my little girl isn't little anymore.'”

Kling said he has high hopes for Idrogo and is excited to get San Antonio blood into OLLU's athletic mix.

“She set the bar really high for herself and I fully expect her to exceed that,” he said.